***SPOILERS*** We first get to see 48 year old retired city social worker Ruth Cullan, Maureen Stapleton, on a ledge 20 stories up in a Manhattan construction site threatening to jump. It takes a while for the NPYD and local construction workers to get a net under her preventing Ruth from falling to her death. What's with this woman anyway. Why is she trying to kill herself and possibly, in them trying to save her life, take a number of first responders along with her? It's later that we get the dope straight from the horses mouth Ruth Cullan herself. Her life has been nothing but hell and the only way to make things better is to end it all once in for all. There's also the matter that she's suffering from a fatal and incurable blood disease, probably leukemia, and what's to end it on her own terms not that of the illness that's soon to take her life.
It's here where Det. Frank Arcaro, Harry Bellaver, gets a chance to show his stuff as a kind and feeling human being not the hard nosed and take no BS NYPD detective that we've been used to seeing him for the last 4 or so years in the "Naked City" TV series. Taking the lonely and distraught Ruth, who lost her lover 25 years ago in a shoot out in Hell's Kitchen, under his wings Arcaro shows the deeply disturbed Ruth that there are people in the world that indeed do care and want to help her. And thus for once showing her the better side of life that she's been missing out on all these years. At least before she ends up dead , from her incurable disease, and will never get a chance to ever see it. In something like the movie "Marty" with the roles reversed this "Naked City" episode is truly touching as well as both entertaining and uplifting. And it's the fine acting of both Harry Bllaver & Maureen Staplaton who really make it work without it being too overly schmaltzy.
It was also Det. Arcaro, whom Ruth got to calling Frank, who got Ruth to overcome her feelings of unworthiness and just plain feeling sorry for herself that got her to see not only her's but those around her problems, that she isolated herself from, as well. This of course didn't improve Ruth terminal medical condition but it did improve her outlook on life and made her a much better person for it as we see at the end of this "Naked City" episode. And all it took was the kind understanding and friendship of a hardened and bachelor, who still lives with his mom, NYPD detective not a $50 to $100 dollars an hour Park Ave head shrinker to achieve that for her!
It's here where Det. Frank Arcaro, Harry Bellaver, gets a chance to show his stuff as a kind and feeling human being not the hard nosed and take no BS NYPD detective that we've been used to seeing him for the last 4 or so years in the "Naked City" TV series. Taking the lonely and distraught Ruth, who lost her lover 25 years ago in a shoot out in Hell's Kitchen, under his wings Arcaro shows the deeply disturbed Ruth that there are people in the world that indeed do care and want to help her. And thus for once showing her the better side of life that she's been missing out on all these years. At least before she ends up dead , from her incurable disease, and will never get a chance to ever see it. In something like the movie "Marty" with the roles reversed this "Naked City" episode is truly touching as well as both entertaining and uplifting. And it's the fine acting of both Harry Bllaver & Maureen Staplaton who really make it work without it being too overly schmaltzy.
It was also Det. Arcaro, whom Ruth got to calling Frank, who got Ruth to overcome her feelings of unworthiness and just plain feeling sorry for herself that got her to see not only her's but those around her problems, that she isolated herself from, as well. This of course didn't improve Ruth terminal medical condition but it did improve her outlook on life and made her a much better person for it as we see at the end of this "Naked City" episode. And all it took was the kind understanding and friendship of a hardened and bachelor, who still lives with his mom, NYPD detective not a $50 to $100 dollars an hour Park Ave head shrinker to achieve that for her!